Seventeen of 35 prefectures asked by the central government to help Miyagi and Iwate prefectures dispose of potentially radioactive debris from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami have responded positively, the Environment Ministry said.
In addition, five of 10 major cities that received similar requests in the name of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda also answered positively, the ministry said Thursday.
The ministry will soon hold a meeting with key Cabinet ministers to calculate the amounts of debris it would like each locality to accept.
However, it remains uncertain whether disposal will accelerate at a significant pace because many local governments said they won't help unless their residents go along with the plan and final disposal sites are secured.
The other prefectures and cities, except for Nara Prefecture, which has said it will reply soon, responded negatively, the ministry said.
The central government sent out the written requests on March 16 to prefectures and large cities that have been slow to consider the matter. They were asked to respond by April 6.